This invention relates to a utility rack for organizing and storing clothing and accessory items, and more particularly, to a utility rack having for organizing and storing the clothing and accessory items used by law enforcement personnel, emergency personnel, and the like in a functional arrangement generally related to the manner in which the items are usually donned and removed.
Today""s police officers, emergency personnel, and other law enforcement personnel, are required to wear on their uniforms or carry with them more accessories then ever before. For example, most jurisdictions require each of its officers to wear bulletproof vests, carry a police two-way radio, and other specialized equipment such as batons, extra ammunition, or mace. Primarily, these accessories are worn on the body, contained in pockets, or attached to utility belts. A typical police officer would be outfitted with a bulletproof vest, firearm, flashlight, extra ammunition, two-way radio, handcuffs, writing instrument, pad of paper, mace, baton, keys, uniform, and headwear, such as an 8-point hat, or ball cap. When an officer is off duty, storage of all these accessories causes a significant problem to which little consideration has previously been directed.
An examination of the prior art shows that there has been no single invention that meets the needs of the modern day police officer for organizing and storing all the required clothing and accessory items in a single place. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,386,775 provides for a coat hanger suspended from a bar affixed to a wall that includes a shoe-rack. The device is intended to hang shirts and pants exclusively, and is not designed to support a variety of additional accessories. This device provides no means for supporting accessories such as a bulletproof vest, utility belt, two-way radio and the variety of other components used by today""s law enforcement personnel. The same is true for U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,804,069; 357,554; and 5,348,165, all of which fail to provide the specific support and organizational needs for the large amounts of accessories worn by today""s law enforcement personnel. U.S. Pat. No. 5,348,165 is specifically directed toward supporting water-dripping gear for firefighters and fails to provide sufficient hanging capacity to meet the needs for law enforcement personnel. The same is true for U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,804,069; 357,554; and 5,348,165, all of which fail to provide the specific support and organizational needs for the large amounts of accessories worn by today""s law enforcement personnel. U.S. Pat. No. 5,348,165 is specifically directed toward supporting water-dripping gear for firefighters and fails to provide sufficient hanging capacity to meet the needs for law enforcement personnel.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a utility rack adapted to organize and store the specific clothing and accessory items required to be carried by law enforcement personnel, emergency personnel, and the like.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a utility rack for organizing and storing a variety of clothing and accessory items in such a manner that an individual may quickly retrieve or hang clothing and accessory items according to a logical order in which the items may be conveniently removed or donned when dressing.
The above objectives are accomplished according to the present invention by providing a utility rack for organizing and storing a variety of clothing and accessory items worn and carried by law enforcement personnel, emergency personnel and the like. In a preferred embodiment, the utility rack is comprised of a base with an elongated post carried by the base. The post includes an upper level, a medial level, and a lower level for organizing the clothing and accessories.
Advantageously, a plurality of apparel supports are carried by the post along the height of the post for organizing the clothing in a functional arrangement. In the preferred embodiment, the apparel supports include a hat-rack carried by the post adjacent the upper level for storing headwear at a position generally correlated to where the headwear is worn. Preferably, the apparel supports also include at least one apparel hook carried by the post below the hat-rack and generally above the medial level for hanging clothing without interfering in the arrangement of other clothing and accessory items. In a further advantageous embodiment, the apparel supports further include a shoe-rack carried by the post near the lower level for storing footwear at a position that generally corresponds to the level of where the footwear is worn in order to facilitate storage of the footwear.
Advantageously, a plurality of accessory supports are carried by the post along the height of the post for organizing the accessory items in a functional arrangement. In the preferred embodiment, the accessory supports include a radio support carried by the post above the shoe-rack for storing a radio at a convenient location for charging. Preferably, the accessory supports also include a microphone mount carried by the post adjacent the radio support for storing a microphone operatively associated with the radio. In a further advantageous embodiment, a utility belt hanger is carried by the post below the hat-rack and generally above the medial level for storing a utility belt clear of the clothing. Additionally, this further advantageous embodiment includes a vest hanger carried by the post near the medial level for storing a bulletproof vest without interfering in the arrangement of other clothing and accessory items.
Advantageously, a storage box is carried by the post near the medial level for storing miscellaneous equipment normally worn on or used by the personnel. Accordingly, the apparel supports and accessory supports are disposed at various levels along the height of the post for organizing clothing and accessory items in a functional arrangement generally related to the manner in which the items are usually donned and removed.
Preferably, the elongated post is of a sufficient height so as to allow the clothing and accessory items to be placed on the post in a functional vertical arrangement without overlapping.
In an further advantageous embodiment, the hat-rack includes a horizontal hat platform affixed to a top end of the post for storing the headwear. Preferably, a plurality of apparel hooks are carried below the horizontal hat platform and generally above the medial level for storing the clothing in a vertically arranged manner to accommodate hanging and removing the clothing in a prescribed sequence. The apparel hooks includes a first apparel hook for hanging a first clothing item and a second apparel hoop for hanging a second clothing item. The first and second apparel hooks are functionally arranged so that the clothing may be placed on the apparel hooks in an order to facilitate removal of the clothing in a reverse order when dressing. Preferably, the utility belt hanger is carried on an opposite side of the post from the apparel hooks to balance the weight of items hanging on the post between the hat-rack and the medial level. Advantageously, the utility belt hanger carries the utility belt at least 48 inches above the ground to prevent small children from reaching the utility belt.
Preferably, the vest hanger is carried by the post below the storage box and above the base. In the preferred embodiment, the vest hanger includes a hanger bar extending across the post for hanging the bulletproof vest which has a weight heaver than the clothing placed on the apparel hook. The hanger bar is disposed on an opposite side of the post from the radio support and shoe-rack for carrying the bulletproof vest between the medial level and the base to reduce the likelihood of tipping from the weight of the bulletproof vest.
Preferably, the radio support is carried by the post above the shoe-rack a sufficient height to allow the footwear to be placed on the shoe-rack clear of the radio support. In the preferred embodiment, the radio support is adapted for carrying a charging unit used to charge the radio. Accordingly, the radio support is located at a height on the post so as to be in proximity to a wall power outlet so that a power cord of the charging unit may be connected to the wall power outlet for charging the radio when placed in the charging unit on the radio support. Preferably, the radio support and microphone mount are carried by the post near the medial level on an opposite side of the storage box and the vest hanger. In a further advantageous embodiment, the microphone mount is carried by the post in a vertical arrangement above the radio support so that a cord connecting the microphone to the radio may be maintained in an untangled orderly manner.
Preferably, the shoe-rack includes an inclined platform carried by the post above the base near the lower level for receiving footwear. The inclined platform includes a heel ridge for abutting the heel of a shoe to prevent the shoes from falling off the inclined platform and causing injury.
Preferably, the base includes a plurality of adjustable footings for leveling the base on uneven flooring.